Newport Coast Con Artist Faces Federal Prison Trip

A Newport Coast con artist who stole nearly $120,000 from small business owners so he could pay high-end rent in the gated, oceanview community and drive a Porsche Cayenne will learn how long he will be sent to prison on October 6.

If a prosecutor inside the U.S. Department of Justice in Santa Ana has his way, Daniel Peter Brucato--who pleaded guilty in January to six wire fraud counts named in a 2013 indictment--will serve at least 15 months in a federal penitentiary.

Between April and December 2011, Brucato took money for promised goods via the Internet, but didn't deliver.

He instead diverted the funds to enhance his lifestyle, according to a government report.

Special agents with the United States Secret Service identified five victims across the country, but Assistant United States Attorney Vibhav Mittal decided to ask federal Judge David O. Carter to impose the low-end of sentencing guidelines on Brucato because he "readily" accepted responsibility for his crimes after his arrest.

Mittal is also asking Carter to order the defendant, who was born in 1959, to pay full restitution to his victims.